This objective guide covers all 16 of White's alternative to 1 e4, 1 d4, 1 c4 and 1 Nf3. Some of these lines have a cult following while others are just sensible ways of starting the game, with their own subtleties and pitfalls for the unwary, while a

This inclusive guide to every unorthodox opening used by chess players contains more than 500 weird, contentious, controversial, unconventional, arrogant, and outright strange openings. A powerful part of any chess player's arsenal, these tricky tacky surprises fly in the face of tradition. 1,000+ illustrations and diagrams.

Start every game with confidence! The two greatest challenges for beginning chess players are not only to survive the openings phase, but also to choose appropriate attack and defense formations in the process. Winning Chess Openings shows you how to do both. In Yasser Seirawan's entertaining, easy-to-follow style, you're shown formations that can be used with other White or Black pieces. Winning Chess Openings will help you develop a solid understanding of opening principles that you can apply to every game you play without having to memorise a dizzying array of tedious and lengthy opening lines. * Build a safe house for a King * Estimate losses of ten moves or fewer * Utilise the elements: time, force, space and pawn structure * Plan strategy based on time-tested opening principles * Employ a defense for Black against any White Opening * Apply an opening for White used by World Champions Winning Chess Openings will help readers develop a solid understanding of opening principles that can be applied to every game they play--without having to memorize a dizzying array of tedious and lengthy opening lines.

No matter how unconventional, irrational or even crazy an opening is, sooner or later every chess player will have to face it. When that happens, you can count on a well-prepared opponent who is more than happy to roll out his pet line. John Watson and Eric Schiller provide club-players with solutions to a huge selection of these rarely-played or tricky chess openings. They concentrate upon ideas and strategy, with enough analysis to satisfy the needs of practical play. Only when a sharp reply is required, Watson end Schiller will recommend a more complex variation filled with tactics. In the vast majority of cases they present a simple and safe way to approach the position, requiring little memorization and still leading to a promising game. There is a lot of fun material in this book, and you may be surprised to see how even strong grandmasters have indulged in the craziest variations. Chess isn’t all main lines and 20 moves of theory!